


Jason's Gots Kids

by audreycritter



Series: Cor Et Cerebrum [28]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: For Me, Gen, alfred comes with supplies, because that's what you do with one once you've got 'im, because why the heck not, jason adopts a baby, jason holds a baby, no just very short in general, no profreading we die like mne, tumblr flash fiction, very short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 17:37:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10541286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreycritter/pseuds/audreycritter
Summary: Jason Todd was just going to take in some older foster teens but Gotham's the sort of place that always needs somebody for someone.And the first call he got was for a baby and he sure as hell wasn't going to say no.





	

An hour of total decisiveness in Jason Todd’s life was followed by an hour of sheer panic, during which he made two frantic phone calls to Alfred Pennyworth that did very little to explain much of anything to the older man other than the most important details. The calm on the other end carried through, though, and Jason found himself calmed by it.

So the hour of panic was followed by a quieter hour, of determination and a little bit of awe, as he sat on the couch in an apartment that was far from equipped for a baby.

But a baby was there anyway, tiny and bundled in a worn hospital blanket, cradled in the crook of Jason’s arm. A car seat he was pretty sure was expired was by the front door, waiting to be trashed when the replacement arrived.

“Everything,” he’d admitted to Alfred on the second phone call, with a gulp for air. “Um, I basically need, uh, everything.”

There was a sample canister of formula on the counter in the kitchen and a cheap plastic bottle that had taken three attempts to use successfully. The baby had alternated gagging and screaming until Jason, in a moment that was an equal mix of desperation and resolve, took a soldering iron from his tool chest to the rubber nipple and downsized the hole. He’d swayed and bounced next to the stove, the wailing infant on his shoulder, while he boiled the rubber after that.

He had no idea how long any of his half-formulated plans and lists would take Alfred, but in those ten minutes the crying faded and a wide-eyed and then heavy-lidded baby sucked down a bottle and fell asleep, drooling, while Jason sat with him on the couch. His mind shifted from _I need help what was I thinking_ to just _hey._

It didn’t matter how long Alfred took.

They’d be fine.

For forty-nine minutes, Jason didn’t move.

He briefly entertained the thought that his family might think he was crazy (didn’t they already?) or that they’d be upset with him, but he pushed it aside.

It didn’t matter.

For forty-nine minutes, his whole world was reduced to Jason Todd, with scars on his arms and white hair falling across his brow, sitting on a couch in jeans and a faded Transformers t-shirt he’d stolen from Dick, holding eight pounds of tiny brown-skinned human while they both breathed, and breathed. The baby took two breaths to every one of Jason’s and he was watching the little face closely enough to count.

Once, he swallowed hard, not because of returning panic but because there was a living child sleeping against his chest, leaving an irregular circle of drool, and trusting him completely. And it didn’t scare him as much as it took his breath away, that somebody else had let him walk out of a social services office with a car seat in his hand and suddenly, indefinitely, he was…it.

There was a soft knock on the door and Jason said, “Co–” but his voice was hoarse from quiet and he had to clear his throat and try again, with his heart thudding. “Come in. It’s unlocked, Al.”

The door opened and Alfred stepped in, right at the edge of Jason’s line of sight. There was a slight crinkle of plastic bags but the older man carried them only three steps in and set them down.

“There’s more in the car,” he said quietly, coming around the couch. “But I rather thought it pointless to rush.”

The older man sat next to Jason on the couch and leaned over to peer at the baby.

“Does he have a name?” Alfred asked in a low voice, motionless as he studied the infant. “I’ll confess if you mentioned it in on the phone, I quite missed it.”

“I don’t know if I did,” Jason whispered back with a sheepish grin. “I was feeling a little overwhelmed if you, uh, hadn’t noticed.”

Alfred pulled back just enough to raise an eyebrow at Jason but then let the matter drop.

“Isaac,” Jason said after another minute. “His name’s Isaac.”

“I caught Master Timothy out for lunch with Kiran,” Alfred said a moment later. “They’ve been sent off to procure a cot.”

“Oh fricking frack,” Jason said with a sigh. “Shit. Everyone’s gonna think I’ve lost it. You don’t, do you?”

Alfred sat up on the couch and patted Jason’s knee.

“Not in the least. Or if you have, it’s rather in ways I’ve grown numb to. You’ll have Master Bruce to thank for that. It seems it runs in the family.”

Jason swallowed hard again. The little body was totally slack against his arm and chest, warm and snuggled into him.

“I swear, you won’t get calls all the time. I’m not gonna dump him off on you. I just–”

“Master Jason,” Alfred said seriously, looking at him, “ring anytime. You’ll do fine, I’m certain, but you’re never a bother. Goodness gracious, I don’t tell you this enough, but I _am_ proud of you.”

Jason ducked his head down and resisted the urge to scrub at his eyes. He focused instead on the baby, who was beginning to stir, he guessed, and then thought of the bottle.

“Wanna hold him?” Jason offered and asked at once. “I’ll bring up the stuff from the car.”

Alfred smiled warmly and nodded and there was a brief moment of confusion when they both moved at once and tried to decide how to transfer the sleeping baby, but in the end it was done and Alfred stood and paced the living room slowly.

“You might find this hard to believe,” Alfred said, as Jason tugged on his shoes. “But I’m no expert. I can’t remember the last time I held an infant. You’ll soon outstrip us all.”

“Don’t frigging crush the pedestal I’ve put you on,” Jason warned him. “Not now. I need to believe in your limitless knowledge.”

Alfred chuckled but didn’t answer that.

The black town car had another dozen bags across the back seat and Jason finagled them all into loops around his hands to save himself other trips. He fought up the stairs with them and set them down just as Isaac was starting to whimper.

“You got bottles?” Jason asked, rooting through the bags. Alfred did, he thought, look a little helpless while the baby squirmed.

“Blue bag,” Alfred directed. “Shall I?”

“Gimme a second,” Jason said, pulling the package out. The whimpering turned into mewling cries and Jason relented and turned back to the living room and held his arms out. Alfred handed him the baby and accepted the bottles in return.

“I think you have to clean them first?” Jason said, nodding at the wrapped instructions. He tucked the tiny face under his chin and talked quietly while Alfred ran water and then the microwave.

“Is there a measure?” Alfred asked a moment later and Jason stepped over bags to get to the kitchen.

“It’s in the thing,” Jason said, and before the baby’s cries turned into real crying, Jason was testing the contents on his wrist above the sink. When he spun to go back to the couch, he caught Alfred watching him with a strange expression. “What?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” Alfred said, shaking himself slightly. “I’ll find homes for the rest of the things. Go sit.”

Once Jason was back on the couch, Alfred added, “Master Timothy will be here within the hour. You should be aware that they all now plan to stop by before the day is out. Master Bruce informed me he’s coming after work and if it’s too much, you’re to tell the others to wait until tomorrow.”

Jason snorted and startled the baby, and had to shush and rock him for a moment to settle him enough to eat again.

“Let ‘em come,” Jason said. “We might as well get used to it.”


End file.
